All about Mixed Recycling
What does DMR mean? - DMR stands for Dry Mixed Recycling and is an industry term that’s been around for many years now.
What is DMR? DMR or Mixed Recycling is a category of waste that typically includes, paper, cardboard, soft plastics, drinks cans and plastic bottles however the exact permitted materials will depend on your waste provider however at Cawleys this is what we accept in Mixed Recycling containers.
If the recycling is all mixed up how can you actually recycle it? This is the clever part! We take your waste and recycling back to our very clever Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where it is processed through the plant through a mixture of automated sorting and hand sorting. You can find out more about it here: (link to Youtube on MRF?). This enables us to extract the recyclables, bulk them up (typically through baling) and send them to specialist recycling plants to turn into new materials. Our MRF is designed to take mixed waste so we put general waste through this process as well although you will find that many facilities can only take recyclables.
Why can’t I put Glass in my mixed recycling bin? Glass is really easy to recycle and it is much much better to segregate glass at source to maintain quality and to ensure the highest amount is recycled. (Did you know glass is infinitely recyclable which means it can be recycled over and over again without degrading the quality). We do not accept glass in our DMR / Mixed Recycling bins and recommend 240ltr wheeled bins for glass recycling.
It’s important to recycle food waste. Why can’t I put food in my DMR bin? There are two main reasons for this. Firstly food can’t be separated out at the MRF and needs to be recycled through a different process called Anaerobic Digestion (link to AD info on website). Secondly, if you put food in your mixed recycling container you will contaminate the recycling making it wet and dirty. This means it cannot be recycled and has to be treated as general waste!
That all sounds good. How do I start?
Get in touch with our team on 01582 572525 or get a quote here
We would love to help!